Headlight.



No. 830,767. PATBNTED SEPT. l, 1906. P. BUCHANAN. HEADLIGH'IHAPPYLIGMION 'FILED 001:25, 190s.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l v 1J 2 F l/ M5L/Wala Jaarw/20# PATENTEE SEPT. l1, N06.

E'. BUGS' MUN;

APPLIGATEOE PXLED G'RZG, 15)@3.

3 SEBETS-SEEBT 2.

.UNITED STATES FRANK BUCHANAN,

PATENT OFFICE.

or DAYTON, oiiio.

HEADLIGHT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

-Patented Sept. 1 1',- 1906.

I'. Application filed October 2B, 1903. Serial No. 178,557.

vTo aZwh/Qm/ it may concem- 'Y eBe it known that I, FRANK BUCHANAN, ofDayton, in the county of Montgomery, inthe act escription.

This invention relates .to improvements in..k

headlights in which two electric lain s are located inthe focal Aaxis ofthe parabo ic ie- Y iiector, one in front of the other. These headlightsare especially adapted for use on the cars of electric-railway systemsof, large -car is all that is necessary.

cities in `which many of the lines extend a considerable distance intothe suburbs and rural districts, and it is found desirable to use lightsof different degrees of intensity, the stronger light being used whilethe car is traveling through the suburbs and rural districts, and theweaker light is brought into use when the car is passing through thestreets of the more congested pa'rts of the city.

One of the reasons for using the weaker lights in the cities is that thereflection of a strong light into the eyes of the pedestrians anddrivers tends to obscure the vision and is frequently the direct causeof collisions and serious accidents. Another reason' is that the streetsof a c ity are usually well lighted at night, and therefore a meresignal-light on the hand, when the car is passing through the suburbsand into -the rural districts, where they are usually run at a Vmaximumspeed, it becomes necessary to' use a much stronger light to enable themotorman to see a considerable distance in advance ofthe car, so as toavoid accidents.

The primary object of this invention, therefore, is to locate bothlights in the focal axis of the reflector, so that the reflected raysradiate uniformly in all directions from the `focus of the reflector,and thereby produces a maximuin light with a minimum power.

Another object is to locate the carbons of the arc-lamp at an angle withthe focal axis of the reflector in such manner as to bring the crater ofthe upper carbon iii position to face the focus, so that the arc-lightis thrown across the focus of the reflector, whereby a much strongerlight is produced 'with the same current than can be produced by havingthe c ai'bons in a vertical position or perpendicular to the focal axis,in which position dosed within On the other which.

the arclieht is concentrated upon" a portion o'fp-the reiiector at oneside,"A as beneath the 'focal axisfor focus. l

0th' r1 specificobjects v'will `appear in' the' subsequent description.;b ut 4the the various features of "no velty described is to `'increasethe, general lighting f and structural qualities of this class of appa-Tetris, so' as to render the headlight more useful forthe purposes forwhich it is intended.

1purpose .of ereinaftei ,I n'fthe' drawings, vFigure 1 is a frontvr face'viewlof aheadlight embodying the various ,improvements Fig 2 isatransverse vertical sectionalview through the case andinteriormechanism,"showing the door, oper. and in elevation. Fig. 3 is ahorizontalfsectional -view taken on line 3 3, Fig. 1.

Similar reference characters indicate correspondingparts in all theviews.

The greater partY of the mechanism isi/inf, t e cylindrical metalcase'l,A

,4 is an; lenlargedvertical sectional view through the arcelamp andreflector, showing theirA siip` vports and the carbonefeeding Figs. 5and 6 are perspective views of the ilchaving a rear end wall 2, whileits front eind of the case and is detachably locked at the drawing thepin the door may bcswung upon its hinge 4 to the position seen in Fig?.or

vmay be held in its closed position bythey reinsertion of the pin 5, asseen in Figs.' 1 'and 3. This case is adapted to be detachablyy issuspended. "A biiller'f? is secured to' ,the lower portion of the rearwall to engage, the'v platform and hold thc case a slight distancetherefrom, said bulfer being adjustable forwardly'nd-"rearwardly to tiltthe casein re'iiector is located, and therefore the''reflector may betilted to throwthe roiiected' rays of light up or down, as may bedesired, such adjustment of the buffer being effected by means of ascrew S, Fig; 2. A parabolic reflector 1() is centrally mounted in theopen end of the. case with its apex ex,- teiidiiig rearwardly and isprovided with ,a

is open and is rovided with a circular door` or closure 3, w ich ishinged at 4 to one side" other side by a pin 5, so that by simply with-vrearwardly-extending hub 16, which isnid,`

just ably. secured to an upright arm or bracket 1.1 of a sliding support12.l This upright A 'ann orbracket is formed with a laterallypro-41ect1n studf13," upon which is clamped a split ub .14, having alaterally-projecting Sfarm 15, and this arm receives a screw 17, whichenters'a threaded socket in the hub 16 and serves to partially supportthe reflector.

' The screw-clamp 17 is substantially coincident with the axis of thereflector, which is 1o' circularl in general outline, and therefore thereflector may be adj tusted circumferentially ,to facilitate theassembling-,of the parts of the apparatus, and at the same time it isossible to tilt the reflector to properly 'adjust t e same 1'5 'by sinoosening the clamp-Q14 uponjthe' stud 1'3 and-then rockin the reflectorto the desired position, after' w ch the clamp.l may be again firmlysecured to the stud 13'.

'The support 12 preferably consists of a flat zog' metal "late which ismovable back and forth throng the opening in the front of -thefcase,

'but lis held in its normal or innermost po'- sition, asi-seen in Figs.1, '2, and 3, by means 1 of a 'spring-canali 19;. which engages aflangewardl v,to the position seen in Fig. 2, the objectjo this lbeingto facilitate the work of rev airs or the insertion of 'carbon's in thearc.

amp, presently described.. f

.lo The bracket 11 extends av considerable'dis.-

tance above the huby 16 at the-rear of therefle'ctor and'carries at itsupper end an electromagnet 23 of's ecial construction, hereinafterdescribed. T is bracket also. carries a pair of carbon-holders 24 and25, both of'which are insulatedfrorn the bracket and are rovided withtubular guides 26 and 27, w lich are disposed, respectively, beneath andabove the focal axis, of the .refiector in alinement 5o with each other,but at an angle with said vfocal axis, and receive suitable carbons 28and 29, which are also disA osed atthe same angle with `the focal axis oYthe reflector andl meet v so as to form an arc-light at or near `thefocus. 55 The vangle of inclinationl of these carbons is such that theupper carbon feeds readilv `by gravity and the crater at its lower endfaces the apex Aof the reflector 1, so as to throw the arc-li htatopposite sides of the focal4 axis, 6o therelgay establishing a strongervand "more uniform vreflection than would vbe possible withthe carbonsarranged vertically or perpendicul ar with the focal axis of therefiector. The upper end ofthe tube 26 is provided with a clamping-head30 for'receiving one end of a glass bulb 31, which inclosesv theadjacent ends of the carbons, :the upper end of the bulb being engagedby a clamping-head 32, which is forced into engagement with the bulb bymeans of a spring 33, interposed. between the-clamping-head 32,and aVtubular guide 34, which encircles the upper carbon andA forms acontinuation of the tubular guide 27. The iipper end of the tubularsection 34 is separated from the lower end of the tubular guide 27 forreceiving a feeding-pawl 36.

Thispawl partially surrounds t e un? per carbon and is'loosely -mountedupon a stud 37 at one side of the carbon, and a spring'38 isinterposedbetween the pawl 36 and adjacent end of the tubular guide 27for yieldingly forcingthe adjacent edge of the pawl downwardly. vIt isnow apparent that by rocking the other end Vofthe pawl'upwardly theopposite walls of the opening, which receives the carbon, bite upon thecarbon, and thereby elevate the saine sov as to separate its lower endfrom the upper end of the lower carbon for producing the arc-light. Thisupward feed of the upper carbon is preferably 'regulated by theelectromagnet 23, which is connected in the arc-light circuit and isprovided with an armature 39. When the arc-circuit is closed, thearmature 39 is attracted and operates through the medium of an arm 40and link 41 which are connected to the upper end of thepawl 36 to rocksaid f awl upwardly, and thereby separate` the ower end of the carbon29from the lower carbon. i In order that themagnetic effect may be asstrong as possible uponthe armature, I

provide'alll-shape soft-iron bar 42 with a -central core 43- forreceiving the coil ofthe magnet betweenthe arms of the U-shape bar 42.The armature y39 is pivote'd'at 44 to the front end ofthe lower arm ofthe bar and is providedfw'ith a recess 45for receiving the end of thecore 43. -It will be apparent to any one skilled in the art that .thisconstrue# tion of magnet* is exceptionally powerful and operates moreinstantaneously than an ordiroo los

nary winding upon a core, for t-hereason that l the magnetic lines offorce are set up in the arms ofV the b ar 42, as well as in thecore43.

vMounted upon the support-12 are two binding-posts a and'b, receivingthe line-wiresfc and d, one of the binding-posts being electricallyconnected bvv a wire'fi-tol the lowercarbon holder 24,' ari'd theotherbinding- `ost is connected by. a wire 46 ,to one end o the coilofthe electromagnet, whilev the other end of the coil is connected by awire 47 to one; of

the arms ofthe bar 42, from which the electric current isv conducted tothe tubular holder 25 and to the paw-l 36, so that the cir- 'cu'it'iscompleted throughboth carbons.

When the circuit is broken, the uppercarbon feeds by gravity intocontact w1th'the lower carbon; but asI so'on as the circuit 1s eso-,767

--feed the u per carbon upwardly to separate/ the l'endso the-carbonsfor producin'gt'he arc'- hght. The lower carbon is fed upwardly byIneans'of a rotary gripping-roller 49, which is o erated by a handpieceto pro erly adjust t e lower carbon, so that the are ight islsubstantially in the focal axis of the reflector.

The door 3 is provided with a glass front 1 S of substantially the samediameter as, the open end of the reflector 10, said glass being heldinplace by an annular clamping-ring 51 Aand yclamping-springs 52, whichare mounted upon studs 53 and engage the clamping-ring to force the sameagainst the marginal edges of the glass, and it is ap arent that byremoving the bstuds or brac et 53 and springs 52 the ring 51 may bereadily withdrawn for permitting the insertion or removal of the glass.This door is also formed with an annular flange 54, to the lower portionof which is secured a bracket 55, Vand upon this bracket is mounted anincandescent lamp 56. It is now apparent that the incandescent lamp ismounted upon the door and is mov- .manner and able therewith. The socketof the lamp is 'secured'.directly to the bracket 55 and projectsupwardly therefrom, vwhile the lamp itself is secured to the socket inthe usual rojects upwardly therefrom, so that its bulb or largerend,'.in which the strongest light is concentrated, is located asnearly. in tie focal axis of the reflector as possible directly in frontofthe arc-'lamp and f centrally within the open end of the reflector.

The powercurrent is supplied to both lamps from a source of electricenergy, as the dynam'od, and is controlled by a two-way switch s, Fig.1, so that either of the lamps may be connected in theower-circuit'independently of the other. e arc-lamp,which roduces alight of greater intensity than the e incandescent lamp, is usuallyplaced in the cil-cult when the car 1s travellng in the suburbs or ruraldistricts, while the incandescent lamp is usuall placed in the circuitwhen the car is running'through the congested parts of the city, and itis evident that by locating the incandescent light in the focal axis ofthe reflector acomparatively low candle-power may be used, because thereflected Arays of light are of uniform intensity from thefocus of thereflector. It is also apparent that by disposing the carbons at anangle, so

v that the crater faces the focus, the arc-light is concentrated at saidfocus and produces an intense and 'uniform reflection with the use 'ofa'minizrsml degree of current strength. I therefore believe that it isbroadly new to mount the carbons at an angle with the focal axis of thereflector in the manner described and also to mount the incandescentlamp on the door in such manner that its light 1s in the focal axis ofthe reflector. It is also be- .'the opening in the front o lieved to bebroadly new to provide a springtensioned clamping-head for i the upperend .-of'the arc-lamp glo e or bulb, so as to be 'accessible from theopen end bf'the reflector to permit the lobe to be readily and easil)7removed or p aced in position. h

A resistance r is connected in the powercircuit between the dynamo d andswitch s, so that both lamps have the same voltage and are controlled bythe same two-point switch, which obviates the use` of separate switchesfor the two lamp-circuits.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Iatent, lis y 1. In a headlight, the combination with aninclosing case having an open front and a movable closure therefor, of asliding support guided in the case and movable through said opening, anupright bracket secured to the sliding sup ort, a reflector mounted onthe bracket an adjustable circumferentially thereon, means for clampingthe reflector in its adjusted position, anarc-lamp carried'by thebracket and having itscarbons disposed in the same straight line at anangle with the -axis of the reflector, and a spring-catch for holdingthe sliding fr`ame in the inclosing case.

2. In a headlight, an inclosing case having I an opening in its frontside and a. guide in its base extending from front to rear, a movable..

closure for the opening, an electric incandescentlamp mounted on theclosure, a reflector-support slidable along said uides through the case,a bracket rising fromthe rear end of the support, a catch engaging andholding the slidsupport within the case, a reflector rota- 1n talymounted on the bracket, means for clamping the reflector in itsladjusted position, and an electric-arc lamp mounted in the reflector. I

3. In a headlight, the combination with an inclosing case having an openfront and a movable closure for said opening, of a sliding supportguided in the hcase and movable through said opening, a bracket securedto and rising from the support, a verticallytiltable reflector mountedon the bracket, means to hold the reflector in its tilted osition, andan electric-arc lamp having car ons sup orted by said bracket andmeeting within t e reflector.

4. In a-'headlight, an inclosing case having `a door forming one side ofthe casing, asliding support guided in the casing and movable throughits open side, a bracket secured to and rising from the support, areflector mounted on the sup ort and adjustable vertically, ,mea-ns to4holfl the reflector in its adjusted position, an electric-arc lamphaving carbons mounted. on the bracket, electricallyoperated feedingmechanism for one of the carbons and' including an electromagnet IIOmounted on the bracket, and an inenndescentv electric lamp mounted onthe door in the focal axis of the reiiector,

5. In a headlight, an inclosing;l case having` an open front and amovable closure for the. operung, a sliding support vguidedin the eesingand movable' through said opening, a bracket secured to and rising .from'the'support, arefiector'centrally supported upon the bracketandprovided with openings, one be low the center and the other above thecen# -ter or focal axis of the reflector, an elect-ricarc lamp havingone of its carbons passed .opening in the reflector,

Beagle? through the "lower opening in the reiiector and its other ,cgirbon Wholly within the refiec',n

tor, a s pporting element forv the lower can bon secured to' thebracket, and ang additiorsd support for-the upper carbon also 'secured'to x

